Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Upgraded at Barclays

Key Points

• Ulta Beauty has been upgraded by Barclays from an "equal weight" to an "overweight" rating, with a new price target of $589.00, reflecting a potential upside of 13.23% from its previous close.
• Analyst opinions on Ulta Beauty vary, with 13 analysts giving it a Buy rating, while the consensus rating is currently "Hold" with a target price of $484.70.
• The company recently reported earnings of $6.70 per share, surpassing analyst estimates, and expects to achieve 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $589.00 price target on the specialty retailer's stock, up from their previous price target of $518.00. Barclays's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.24% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $465.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $477.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $487.96.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of ULTA traded up $9.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $529.50. 624,262 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 563,458. Ulta Beauty has a 12-month low of $309.01 and a 12-month high of $534.10. The company has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $494.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $422.37.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The specialty retailer reported $6.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.73 by $0.97. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 49.73% and a net margin of 10.45%.The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.47 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.650-23.200 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,809,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter valued at about $479,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 76 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Pitcairn Co. boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 2,521 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States. The company offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools through its Ulta Beauty stores, shop-in-shops, Ulta.com website, and its mobile applications.